TopChef

The elimination challenge this week on 'Top Chef: Texas' (Wed., 10PM ET on Bravo) was particularly brutal. The chefs were divided into three teams for a chili cookoff, but immediately one team seemed to be at a disadvantage.

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At least, Nyesha thought they were as she was paired with both Beverly and Richie. As she anticipated, the trio did not impress with their hint of chocolate. Cowboys don't want sweet in their chili almost as much as they don't want beans!

Has 'Top Chef' (Wed., 10PM ET on Bravo) gone all 'Fear Factor' on us? On last night's season premiere the chefs were given their first quickfire challenge, which was to create a dish using rattlesnake. Yum! (Not.) A very unhappy-looking Dakota confessed that she has "a major fear of snakes," and Ty-Lör probably spoke for everyone in the kitchen when he said, "This sucks!"

Host Padma Lakshmi was really harsh on the hapless contestants, using some most unladlylike language to get them going: "I'd better some some motherf***ing snakes on some motherf***ing plates at the end of this!" What has happened to Padma since she got to the Lone Star State?

As the nervous chefs gingerly opened the ingredient boxes a giant wave of relief washed over them as they realized that they wouldn't be rassling any rattlers after all: The snakes were all dead and skinned. So that makes it all alright then!

It all came down to a final face-off between the final three on 'Top Chef: Just Desserts' (Wed., 10PM ET on Bravo). With $100,000 on the line, as well as a feature in 'Food and Wine Magazine,' the contestants were definitely feeling the pressure.

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For their final challenge, they had to make a dessert that represented someone important to them, as well as an entire table of desserts for display. Aesthetic presentation and flavor were equally important, as this was their last chance to impress.

Reality show competitions are very stressful. And by the time you get down toward the end, your nerves are often frayed. That's probably why three of the remaining five contestants on 'Top Chef: Just Desserts' (Wed., 10PM ET on Bravo) got their drink on with a classic game of 'Never Have I Ever.'

The boys had so much fun that Carlos was certain that he, Matthew and Orlando would be in the bottom tomorrow, simply because they were so wasted. Plus, we learned that they all want to punch Johnny in the face -- Orlando wants to twice!

Two people went home this week on 'Top Chef: Just Desserts' (Wed., 10PM ET on Bravo). In a surprise twist, the contestants were told that the loser of the doughnut challenge at the top of the show would be eliminated right there.

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Katzie was devastated when Megan was sent packing after her glaze was too crunchy. Luckily for Katzie she wouldn't have to suffer the competition alone for long. The contestants were next split into two groups of three and tasked with creating a chocolate showpiece.

'Top Chef: Just Desserts' (Wed., 10PM ET on Bravo) kicked off with a $25,000 prize on the line. The Quickfire Challenge was to come up with a small dessert that packed enough flavor to inspire a flavor for Extra Gum's Dessert Delights line.

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The winning flavor was pancakes with strawberries, elevating Craig to the front of the pack. As an additional reward, he got to pick team captains for two teams heading into the next round. He chose himself and Amanda.

The contestants were arbitrarily split into four teams of three on this week's 'Top Chef: Just Desserts' (Wed., 10PM ET on Bravo). For the elimination challenge they were tasked with creating a three-layer cake to celebrate opening night for the Walt Disney Orchestra. Each team member would be responsible for one layer of the cake.

A lack of communication led to one cake having two chocolate layers, while it was Vanison who got overly ambitious and pushed his team in a more intricate direction than they were comfortable with. More critically, it was an ambition they could not live up to.

When NBC Universal had their all-star party at the January press tour, I got a chance to talk to Andy Cohen of Bravo. Who's Andy Cohen? Many of you who follow Bravo's reality shows may know him as "the reunion guy," who hosts all the reunion shows at the end of each season. Others may know him from the talk show 'Watch What Happens Live,' which debuted last summer and discusses the week in the world of Bravo and beyond.

But Cohen has a day job: as the network's senior vice president of original programming and development, he's largely been responsible for bringing shows like 'Top Chef,''Project Runway,' 'Flipping Out,' 'The Real Housewives' series and others to the network. So he's the perfect guy to talk to about the mishegas going on with the Jersey Housewives as they shoot their second season, fluky edits on the finale of 'Top Chef,' and whatever he could say about the Salahis, who crashed a White House dinner while being recruited for 'The Real Housewives of D.C.' Our talk is after the jump.

Believe it or not, moves like this are what made Gillespie a fan favorite. Even though he cranked out consistently solid food week after week during the season, he was also relatively humble and aware of his limits, a quality most of the chef'testants never displayed.

Bethenny Frankel appears to have it all: fame, fortune, Skinnygirl Margaritas -- everything, that is, except for her own reality series.

Until now.

Frankel, one of the breakout stars of Bravo's 'Real Housewives of New York,' is set to star in her own series called 'Bethenny's Getting Married?', which will presumably follow Frankel's engagement to Jason Hoppy, according to E! (yes, the question mark is intentional).

Given the reports that NBC is on the verge of admitting that five nights a week of 'The Jay Leno Show' was a mistake and moving the former 'Tonight Show' host back to late night, how will the network fill five nights of suddenly vacant 10PM programming?

It's been rumored that this move has been in the works for a while, and that it's why NBC has purchased so many series pilots (about 18 of them) in recent weeks. But those shows are meant for the fall season and probably wouldn't be ready to go into full production in time for the March departure of the Leno show. So NBC will have to scramble to fill five hours of primetime programming.

A terrific season of 'Top Chef: Las Vegas' ended with a win for hot-headed Michael Voltaggio. Kelly and Patricia discuss the results and look forward to next season, with some surefire challenges for if the show comes back to New York (call us, Bravo producers!).

Plus, with Patricia watching 'The Wire' for the first time, the two think about which other box sets they should tackle in their entirety -- whether for the first time, or just for the pleasure of re-viewing.

Although they didn't win 'Top Chef: Las Vegas,' finalists Bryan Voltaggio and Kevin Gillespie impressed the judges week after week -- not to mention the viewers at home.

Bryan and Kevin spoke with reporters yesterday about the final episode and what all went down, including how Kevin felt about being the first person eliminated on Wednesday.

Kevin Gillespie:

On his Facebook group celebrating his beard:
It's been really funny and positive. Obviously, I'm happy to be the people's champion. I had this underdog thing going on, just visually. So I think it's great. If people are in love with my beard, so be it. That gives me a really great reason never to shave again.

In a stunning 'Top Chef' upset, Los Angeles-based chef Michael Voltaggio came up big in the season 6 finale of Bravo's highly-rated reality competition series.

Known throughout the season as the gambler, Michael often made risky decisions with his culinary visions. But in the end, the gambling paid off, as he edged out his brother, Bryan, and Atlanta native, Kevin Gillespie.

Michael took home the grand prize of $125,000 -- and surely enough work to keep him busy over the next several years.

Michael spoke with reporters earlier this afternoon about what motivated him to appear on 'Top Chef,' the meanings behind his tattoos and the on-set mix ups between him and his brother.

Michael Voltaggio won the sixth season of 'Top Chef' last night, beating out older brother Bryan and Atlanta chef Kevin Gillespie.

It was indeed a stellar crew of chefs that made it to the 'Top Chef' finale. The top three contestants won a combined total 12 of the 13 elimination challenges in the show, but it was the younger Voltaggio who took top honors with a four course meal including sweet-and-sour rockfish and fennel-scented squab dishes.